


Afraid of heights

by Icetor



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Fear of Heights, Fluff, Human AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26353711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icetor/pseuds/Icetor
Summary: Catra wants to climb the Eiffel tower, Adora is afraid of heights.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57
Collections: "I'll never be afraid of heights (again)"





	Afraid of heights

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic for the weekly prompt on the limmamil discord!  
> This weeks prompt was "I'll never be afraid of heights (again)"  
> Thanks to the lovely @Tshjortile for beta!

Adora swallows nervously as she stares up the tower before her. Catra is thrumming with excitement beside her, practically vibrating as she eyes the stairs that lead to the top. “Wanna race to the top?” Adora puffed out a sigh. It has been Catra’s dream for years to go to Paris and see the sights and especially this one. The Eiffel tower. Adora gulps again, her stomach churning on the light lunch she has treated Catra to. The tower stretches upward farther than she imagined when she read how tall it was in the guide book. It wasn’t even a thousand feet! Each metal rung looks like a rung on a deadly high ladder that could crumple over at any minute. 

The blonde shakes her head, trying to clear her anxieties. She looks down at the shorter girl smiling and wraps her arm around Catra’s shoulders. “Uhm, would you mind if we took it slow actually?” Catra rolls her eyes, smiling despite herself. 

“What, are you gonna chicken o-” Catra cuts herself off as she turns to look at Adora, her pained expression stopping the snide comment in her throat. “Are you nervous about the height?” Adora swallows and nods, her stomach twisting painfully. Normally she would swat the comment away, maybe scoff and say she isn’t afraid of anything, but this means a lot to Catra, and she isn’t about to spoil it with dishonesty.

Adora is nervous, but she has to do this for Catra, for her girlfriend of three years, for the love of her life. Taking Catra’s hand in her own, they start up the stairs, Catra watching out the side and Adora staring at her feet. She wants to do this for Catra, but she also wants to do it for herself. She isn’t going to let her stupid fear stop her now. Not when it’s so important. 

The shorter girl has been nervously and excitedly talking about going to Paris for years now, ever since they were kids as far as Adora can remember. When they were kids… They have been together for so long… Adora reminisces, letting her mind wander to soothe her anxiety. She thought of days they have spent playing together, hiding from Ms. Weaver, the abusive caretaker at the orphanage they grew up in together. That woman had always hurt Catra more than Adora. Even through all of that they have escaped. Not together at first, and not right away, but things have turned out okay. 

She thinks of one especially horrid memory. Her therapist often attributes it to her fear of heights that she still can’t seem to get over. Her eyes dull as she remembers the time her and Catra climbed onto the roof in the late hours of the night when their matron was sleeping and less likely to catch them. Catra wanted to look at the stars with Adora, something she had apparently done before as she easily led Adora to the roof, using a series of carefully stacked boxes. On the roof, they had started arguing, Adora remembers, about Adora spending more time with the other kids. Catra had said that she and Adora couldn’t be best friends if Adora was friends with them. It wasn’t unwarranted, the other kids were much meaner to Catra, because it earned them favor with Ms. Weaver. They had argued for a while, until Adora had pushed Catra. Catra had fallen. Adora will never forget the sickening crack as she hit the ground, or the scream that echoed in the orphanage, which brought Mrs. Weaver out. 

Adora shudders as she is pulled out of the memory by Catra bumping into her softly. “You sure you’re okay? We can turn around.” Concern crosses Catra’s face, her brows raised and her eyes worried. Adora shakes her head, stopping and taking a deep shaky breath, trying to ground herself. Ground. Oh gosh, they are so far from the ground. She tries counting seconds but they only seem to drag the more she thinks about them. Catra’s voice reaches her finally. “Adora? Okay, that’s it, we are turning around.” She says gruffly. 

Catra goes to take Adora’s hand but the blonde girl stays steadfast and shakes her head. “We can’t stop now. You want this, I'm not gonna spoil it for you.” 

“Adora, I-” Catra fumbles with her words. This is supposed to be perfect but she can tell from the look on Adora’s face that she is incredibly uncomfortable. “Look, we can just … I dunno, go somewhere else, maybe like … I dunno.” Catra is trying not to let the disappointment show in her tone but it leaks into her words like a poison. 

The disappointment in Catra’s voice hardens Adora’s resolve and she shakes her head again. “No way. We are climbing to the top.” She doesn’t leave any room to argue, turning back to the steps and all but drags Catra until she relents. 

“Okay, but don’t throw up…” Catra’s worry doesn’t subside but her excitement is still palpable. If Adora is determined to take her to the top then she will enjoy it no matter what. 

Adora swallows hard again. Her nerves of steel feel like they are burning up one by one every step of the way. They are well past the halfway mark by now and the burning in her legs tells her it is going to be one hell of a morning tomorrow. Catra is struggling with the physical aspect of the climb too, nearly a thousand feet is a lot of steps to climb after all. 

With a happy groan from Catra they reach the top, all but flopping down on the top step with glee. Adora on the other hand is more anxious than ever. The wind is heavy and tousles her long blonde hair in a way that makes her tighten her fists, digging her nails into her palms. She glances at Catra, expecting to see a wide smile on the other girl's face, but she looks nervous too. “C-c-catra? W-what’s wrong?” She asks, cursing the stutter in her voice, blaming the nerves.

“Oh! Oh, uh, it’s nothing, don’t worry!” Catra calls scurrying off to the edge and looking out over the city. “Adora, come look at the view! It’s amazing!” The wind eats the nervousness in her voice or so she hopes, but she isn’t so lucky. Adora hears it; the only thing going through her mind now is the image of ten-year-old Catra hitting the pavement. _ Is she worried about me pushing her?  _ An intrusive thought that she can’t help but latch onto as she thinks about the nervous glances Catra has been giving her all the way up the tower, all day come to think of it, no, even at the airport at the start of the week. 

Adora takes a step back, afraid of causing Catra pain. She can’t meet her gaze, letting it fall to her feet.  _ This trip was an awful idea _ , she thinks. She should have let Glimmer and Bow take Catra to Paris, what was she thinking agreeing to this trip. 

“Adora.” The serious tone shakes her and she can’t help but look up to her girlfriend, lover, love of her life, meeting her split gaze. She finds a soft kindness in those eyes, a fondness she doesn’t see anyone else ever receive. It is a gaze only for Adora. Her breath hitches as Catra steps closer. “You don’t have to come up to the edge … just stay there.” Adora holds her breath, the seriousness in Catra’s tone flaring her anxiety again. 

_ What is this? This look, what is she saying? _ Catra’s gaze is nervous again, Adora is counting the seconds again. Adora remembers to take a breath, but finds it halting all too quickly again as a gust of wind steals it away. She presses her back to the wall of the restaurant at the top of the tower, nervous as hell as Catra approaches her, all nervous eyes and excited smiles. 

It is ten seconds until Catra reaches Adora. She counted. Standing just in front of Adora, Catra starts to speak. “Thank you, Adora, for … coming up here, and everything really.” Catra swallows hard and wets her lips, a motion Adora watches with bated breath. Her hands fidget behind her back for a few moments (three seconds) before she continues. “I … I love you so much and … well …” Catra gives a nervous smile as she gets down on one knee and reveals a small box from behind her back. Catra pops it open, her gaze searching Adora’s eyes. “Will you marry me?” 

Adora finds it very hard to connect heights to bad memories after that. She isn’t afraid of them anymore. Not for as long as she has Catra.

**Author's Note:**

> Make sure you read the rest of the fics in the collection! Everyone worked really hard!


End file.
